Garrett Hawkins was first elected the 15th president of Missouri Farm Bureau on December 6, 2020. He is a husband, father, and farmer from Appleton City, Missouri, in St. Clair County. Garrett and his wife, Jennifer, and their children, Adelyn, Colton and Tate, are fifth-generation farmers and the third generation in the Hawkins family to own and operate the farm on which they live today. Their primary enterprise is beef cattle production. Agriculture runs deep in their families and spans livestock, row crop and dairy production.
Garrett’s professional experience is rooted in service and spans Farm Bureau, state government and agribusiness. Most recently, he served as an account manager for Rosen’s Inc., an agricultural chemical distribution company, helping independent ag retailers and their farmer customers in west-central and northwest Missouri.
From 2017 to 2019, Garrett served as deputy director of the Missouri Department of Agriculture. During his tenure, he worked with Governor Parson and Director of Agriculture Chris Chinn to protect and promote the state’s number one industry.
Prior to public service, Garrett led Farm Bureau’s national lobbying efforts and oversaw the organization’s policy development process for nearly 15 years. During his time at Farm Bureau, he served on various committees, including AFBF’s Farm Bill Working Group, and worked closely with state Farm Bureau leaders and the American Farm Bureau staff.
Prior to joining the Farm Bureau staff, Garrett was involved in the organization’s youth programs, including the Ambassador program, Collegiate Farm Bureau (Missouri State University Chapter) and the summer internship program. Youth leadership development has been a passion throughout his career, as he has worked closely with the Missouri FFA Association to provide advocacy training to high school students.
Garrett received an agricultural business degree from Missouri State University. He is a graduate of the Missouri Agricultural Leadership of Tomorrow (ALOT) program. He serves on the organization’s board of directors.
In 2019, he was appointed as Regional Vice President by the National Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity Board of Directors to serve as a liaison to the fraternity’s undergraduate chapters in Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana.
Garrett and his family are members of the St. Clair County Farm Bureau and St. Clair County Cattlemen’s Association. He serves on the Ellett Memorial Hospital Board of Directors, the hospital his great uncle and aunt founded in the 1930s. He is a deacon in the First Baptist Church of Appleton City.
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